Boyfriend Material is a romance, a coming-to-terms and a coming-of-age book you never knew you wanted

What is this about?

Luc need a boyfriend to save his career, such as it is, raising money for dung beetles. One too many photos of him stumbling out clubs, drunk and/ or high and the donors he works with have had it — he’s not the right kind of homosexual they want to give their hard-earned millions to. So Luc needs a boyfriend for a couple of months to show everyone he is the kind of homosexual they want to give their money too. Enter Oliver.

What else is this about?

This is Luc’s coming of age and coming to terms with his life story.  He could ditch a job that needs him to be the right kind of homosexual for rich people to give him money, but this job is his and he wants it to work. And underneath all of this, is Oliver’s story.

Blurb

Wanted:
One (fake) boyfriend
Practically perfect in every way

Luc O’Donnell is tangentially–and reluctantly–famous. His rock star parents split when he was young, and the father he’s never met spent the next twenty years cruising in and out of rehab. Now that his dad’s making a comeback, Luc’s back in the public eye, and one compromising photo is enough to ruin everything.

To clean up his image, Luc has to find a nice, normal relationship…and Oliver Blackwood is as nice and normal as they come. He’s a barrister, an ethical vegetarian, and he’s never inspired a moment of scandal in his life. In other words: perfect boyfriend material. Unfortunately apart from being gay, single, and really, really in need of a date for a big event, Luc and Oliver have nothing in common. So they strike a deal to be publicity-friendly (fake) boyfriends until the dust has settled. Then they can go their separate ways and pretend it never happened.

But the thing about fake-dating is that it can feel a lot like real-dating. And that’s when you get used to someone. Start falling for them. Don’t ever want to let them go.

Boyfriend Material was my refuge this past two weeks.

God knows, I’ve complained enough in my #5Books posts just how stressful things were getting, and for a bit getting into the groove of reading… well, I couldn’t get into the groove.

And I know it’s a cliche, but my goodness, was this book just a bright spot in a stressful time.

Lucien is in big, big trouble

Luc doesn’t have the perfect life, but it’s his. Yes, he may work for a dung beetle charity, and his co-workers might be the most rich, obtuse people who couldn’t see a joke even if it knock-knocked on their door, but it’s his life. And after a lifetime of being known for being the son of former rock stars — a mum who is wonderfully eccentric, and loves him to bits, and a father who walked out of him years ago, and is now making a comeback via a talent show: think the UK’s Got Talent — Luc is discovering that his past is coming back to haunt him.

Dung beetles aren’t the sexiest thing to give money to, and Luc has worked his butt off to make sure the charity ball they are holding is going to be a success — except, when the paparazzi catch up in a not-respectable snap outside a club, his boss starts getting emails from donors pulling out of the ball, citing Luc’s behaviour.

So what is Luc to do? Be, as the donors say, the right kind of homosexual with the right boyfriend — and that’s Oliver.

Humour

This book made me laugh so much.

I know the right kind of homosexual line isn’t going to sit well, right, with some people, but Hall has turned the characters delivering these lines into the most hilarious, self-involved caricatures of high (read: rich) society.

Hall has such a talent for humour, and a healthy dose of snark that made me laugh: whether he’s making fun of the rich and out-of-touch with anything close to reality characters, or drawing readers into the snark-filled fest and banter than is Luc’s friends group, it’s just such a pleasure to read.

And then there’s the different kind of humour — the one that’s filled with a little bit of romance, and a little bit of not-so-fake flirting with Oliver.

Lucien and Oliver

Luc has been coasting through life since an ex sold the story of their relationship to the papers — an ex Luc loved and trusted. So he’s burned out on committing to a relationship, and just too scared to in essence. But when a paparazzi snap threatens the one thing that is important to him — his job — he decides he will do whatever it takes to save it, including dating Oliver.

It needs to be said that Oliver is the only person that calls Lucien by his full name in the book, which is why this review uses both. And I dare you not to melt when Lucien describes what it means/ sounds/ feels like to have only Oliver use his name.

Luc and Oliver do have a wee bit of a history before they start dating — namely Lucien was often drunk when in Oliver’s company, so okay, it’s even less than a wee bit of history. But he still agrees to fake-date him if Luc agrees to attend a family event after the dung-beetle ball. So deal struck, so beings the best-fated romance.

To say these two are opposites is an understatement. Oliver controls everything in his life — his career, his diet, and everything that can be controlled, he controls it. But he also has the ability to see through Lucien’s bullshit, and when he isn’t controlling everything around him, he’s actually remarkably sweet to Lucien.

(and easy on the eyes)

Lucien is entirely the opposite, and is given to dramatics from time to time. But here’s the thing, with Oliver, he finds himself changing, wanting more from Oliver, wanting to explain, wanting Oliver to understand, and most importantly, listening to Oliver’s advice.

And he gives great advice: especially when Luc’s estranged father comes back into the picture wanting a reconciliation. Luc has never had a relationship with his father, and he most certainly doesn’t want to now. But circumstances are such that it’s a chance he has to take this time, and Oliver is the one who takes him to meet Jon, who stands up for Lucien when he needs it — and who understands just why Luc had to try.

The book is filled with moments like this when Luc needs Oliver, and Oliver is there for him, and because Luc is this big, bold character he can overshadow Oliver. But Hall sprinkles the book with clues to Oliver’s issues, culminating in chapters that offer more understanding of him. It might be too heavy handed and stuck on at the end of the book for some, but I think Hall effectively shows that Oliver has his issues too.

For once, Luc gets to be the hero, gets to stand up for Oliver to his parents and friends and of course, nothing is the same after that.

Everyone else is fantastic too 

I loved every single character in this book — even the obtuse rich ones who wouldn’t know a good joke if you spelled it out for them. And most especially, the wonderful friends who supported Luc through this book, and then called him on his shit too.

The ending gleefully subverts everything you’d expect from a rom-com this good

All I am going to say about the ending, is that it took one of my most favourite scenes from a favourite rom-com and then instead of giving me what I was expecting, gave me something I needed — and what Lucien and Oliver needed too.

This is the feel good kind of read that makes the days seem a little brighter. Go read it right now.